Week 8 NFL Power Rankings — And Then There Was One Undefeated

Week 7 of the NFL Season was filled with costly injuries and big shakeups to the standings.

So after 7 weeks, here is Fanspeak’s Week 8 Power Rankings:

1. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #2):

Wow the Chiefs are the final undefeated team in the league and after 7 weeks are atop their division. The Chiefs also have a struggling Browns team coming into town this week and have a real good chance of being 8-0.

2. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #7):

The Colts did the impossible, knocking off Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Andrew Luck played a great game and showed why Indy is still in good hands. One issue is how will this team deal with the loss of Reggie Wayne for the rest of the year. Some may question why the Colts are this high, but they’ve knocked off the Broncos, Seahawks and 49ers this year which is no easy task.

3. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #3):

The Seahawks dismantled the Cardinals last Thursday night and now face a Rams team that will be without their starting quarterback. This Seahawks team is extremely dangerous and well rounded and are probably the team that no one wants to face this year.

4. Denver Broncos (Last Week #1):

The Broncos finally got a loss, and while they shouldn’t be too worried a couple questions did arise. Can their secondary cover anyone? and Can they protect Manning? The Broncos are still one of the elite teams in the NFL, but there are a couple cracks that got exposed.

5. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #5):

The Saints were on bye this week and still sit firmly atop the NFC South division. The Panthers and Falcons did win to make things closer, but the Saints shouldn’t be too worried. New Orleans faces the Bills at home this week.

6. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #6):

The 49ers had a big win over the Titans this past week and now sit at 5-2. They are going to need some help if they want to overtake Seattle, but should have a pretty easy game this week against the Jags.

7. Green Bay Packers (Last Week #8):

The Packers got another win and now sit at 4-2 atop the NFC North. Their offense looked great against a solid Browns defense, though they did lose another weapon in Jermicheal Finley. The Packers are in a good position after starting off the season 1-2 and should have a fairly easy game this week against the Vikings.

8. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #10):

The Bengals aren’t always winning games decisively, but they are winning games. They sit atop the AFC North with a two game lead, but have a surprisingly tough contest versus the Jets this week.

9. New England Patriots (Last Week #4):

The Patriot suffered a tough loss to the Jets in overtime on a controversial (but correct) call. While New England is 5-2 and atop the division they just don’t look like the Patriots of old. With the exception of their win over Tampa Bay, none of their wins have been “safe” this year. They are going to bounce back this week as Miami comes to town.

10. San Diego Chargers (Last Week #14):

Okay it was over the Jaguars, but the Chargers are 4-3 now and are playing really good football. They are a little in consistent (like their loss to the Raiders), but I doubt many defenses want to face this team right now. They now have a bye week before they head to Washington to face the Redskins.

11. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #16):

Huge divisional win Sunday for the Cowboys over the Eagles. It maybe wasn’t the prettiest game, but they got the job done on the road and are now up 3-0 in the division this year. Right now it is their playoff spot to lose, and given the weakness of this division they have a chance to run away with it.

12. New York Jets (Last Week #18):

The Jets came up with a key overtime win over the Patriots, and sit just one game out of the division lead. They are an inconsistent team, but they aren’t a team you should count out this year.

13. Detroit Lions (Last Week #12):

The Lions lost a tough one to the Bengals by a field goal. Detroit fell to 4-3, but are still in a good spot in the division and wild card races.

14. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #11):

The Dolphins had the perfect chance to gain some ground in the AFC East this past week, but couldn’t finish the game over the Bills. The Dolphins offensive line is becoming a major factor in their lack of consistent offensive production this year. They still are a good all-around team, but it they don’t fix their line issues it could be a rough second half of the season.

15. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #13):

The Ravens needed to go into Pittsburgh and get a win, but couldn’t get it done as they allowed the Steelers to drive for a last second field goal. Not only could it have helped the Ravens playoff hopes, but a win over the Steelers would have all but knocked them out of contention. Baltimore is not playing well right now and with the Bengals winning, they are falling back in the division race.

16. Chicago Bears (Last Week #9):

The Bears nearly knocked off the Redskins in a shootout on the road where they were banged up due to injuries. As much as the loss hurts, the injuries are going to be a factor going forward. Both Jay Cutler and Lance Briggs are expected to miss significant time and the Bears will need to find options to replace them.

17. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #15):

The Eagles had the chance to take control of this division with a home win over the Cowboys, but despite playing good defense they couldn’t muster anything on offense. Nick Foles went down with injury and rookie Matt Barkley struggled in his place. Expect Michael Vick to be the Eagles quarterback from here on out.

18. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #23):

The Bills defense came up big against the Dolphins to get a key divisional win and keep them in contention. They will need to keep relying on their running back duo until EJ Manuel recovers & returns to the lineup.

19. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #24):

The Panthers controlled the game against the Rams throughout and had one of their more complete games of the season. They are 3-3 and face the struggling Buccaneers on Thursday night.

20. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #17):

The Titans got Jake Locker back, but their offense sputtered for the first 3 quarters until garbage time against the 49ers. Tennessee has to get back on track after their bye this week.

21. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #25):

Even with their depleted offense, the Falcons were able to put up big points against the Buccaneers and get their 2nd win of the season. The Falcons have a long road ahead of them, but should be getting Roddy White and Steven Jackson back in the coming weeks.

22. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #26):

The Steelers got their 2nd straight win on a last second field over their division rival Baltimore Ravens. Its still unclear if they can get back in the playoff race. But they have shown improvement these last 2 weeks.

23. Houston Texans (Last Week #20):

The Texans actually played better than expected with former UDFA Case Keenum as QB. A more signifcant loss is the loss of their defensive leader Brian Cushing for the season.

24. Washington Redskins (Last Week #28):

The Redskins got their 2nd win of the year in a shootout at home over the Bears. As an odd sidenote, they’ve yet to beat a starting QB this season. Now they face the Broncos which will make it difficult to get on a much needed winning streak.

25. St. Louis Rams (Last Week #19):

It was an ugly day for St. Louis. Not only could they not beat an inconsistent Panthers team, but they lost starting QB Sam Bradford for the rest of the year. They season now looks bleak as QB Kellen Clemens takes over the reigns.

26. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #21):

The Cardinals were embarrassed at home against their division rivals, the Seahawks on Thursday night. They need to find a way to better protect Carson Palmer if they want a chance in games.

27. Cleveland Browns (Last Week #22):

The Browns had a tough game against the Packers and were not able to keep it close. They might need to look to make a QB change to Jason Campbell in the coming weeks.

28. Oakland Raiders (Last Week #27):

Coming off a bye, the Raiders now face a Steelers team that has one back-to-back games. But in Oakland, they’ve got a shot.

29. New York Giants (Last Week #30):

Got their first win on Monday night, but it was against a poor team breaking in a new QB. They have their work cut out for them if they want to get their record to a respectable level. And now they go back on the road to Philly to face their division rivals.

30. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #29):

Ugly loss last night to one of the three teams that were still winless. QB Josh Freeman made Christian Ponder look like an all-pro. Be careful what you wish for Vikings fans, sometimes better the devil you know.

31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #31):

Tampa lost to the Falcons, but the biggest loss is star running back Doug Martin is injured and out for the year. One positive, rookie QB Mike Glennon shows promise at times.

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #32):

One week after staying close with Denver for awhile, the Jaguars weren’t able to muster much of an offense against the Chargers.

Fanspeak.com was created by Steve and Megan Shoup, a brother and sister who are fanatical sports fans. They decided to take fate into their own hands and start a business venture revolving around their passion. They partnered with Junger Media and developer Jason Unger, and the rest is history.